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English - Japanese
Language Differences Due to the set up of the Japanese Vocaloids, they are more limited for the use of the English language, since including phonemes, , , , and , is very different from that of the English language. As each consonant sound is always followed by inseparable vowels and consonants do not get in cluster in the Japanese language, generally each of them is pronounced weakly and not independently, except んn, and some transliterated phonemes for non-Japanese words. Because of this, some of Japanese Vocaloids’ consonant sounds slightly contain vowel sounds to be smooth and sound right in Japanese when they are connected to the following vowels.Piapro - Rin/Len Kagamine’s Consonant Sounds It is also important to know that the symbols suggested by the X-SAMPA couldn't match their actual pronunciations leading to some errors; for instance, the Vocaloid symbol S correspond to the in English Vocaloids and in Japanese ones, ) basically Japanese "a" is a low central vowel and is between the English "a" in "father" and the English "a" in "dad", and "r" in Japanese is not as same as either "r" or "l" in English. In addition, the English language often puts emphasis on certain letters of words (stress accent) while the Japanese language frequently use . These differences between two languages frequently make Japanese Vocaloids retain a Japanese accent when there is no perfectly equivalent phonemes, even if users manage them to sing in the correct language. On the contrary, the same things can happen to English Vocaloids and they often have English accents when they sing in other languages. Another consideration with English Vocaloids is their . This will not affect any of the Vocaloids' overall performance or the handling of the VOCALOID engine and they will use identical Phonemes regardless. In fact, the only effect this will have on the Vocaloid is simply a particular stress or emphasis on certain vowels and consonants that may not be seen in another English Vocaloid, but may make an English Vocaloid sound not how a user expects. Examples of Vocaloids who may be affected by this include Sonika who has a British accent and Big Al who has an American; also included in this is Luka Megurine who will retain a Japanese accent. One noted example of a regional accent affecting a Vocaloid's outcome is Big Al's pronunciation of vowel sounds; he can often be harder to make sing in Japanese because of it. In contrast, Japanese Vocaloids do not have as much of a regional accent effect between them in Japanese. As of VOCALOID3 Japanese Vocaloids can more closely mimic English language sounds thanks to the addition of new sounds they lacked in VOCALOID2. However, more complex words and sounds are still beyond the Japanese Vocaloids' reach and this limits the capabilities of a Japanese Vocaloid mimicking English sounds. Other issues that exist are sample amount per pitch (500 for Japanese, 2500 for English, resulting in a typical English vocal being x5 larger then a Japanese one) and sample length (English Vocaloid are often cut at a longer length then Japanese). These difference in particular make the conversion from one language to another much harder then with some other languages. English to Japanese Techniques and Tips Working the Vowels English does not have the same vowels as the Japanese. In most of the cases, Japanese vowels fall in the middle of English vowels in terms of openness. For instance, the vowel (お') is intermediate between (more open) and (closer and often ). Additionally, the English 'u' and Japanese 'u' differ - as the latter is a close back rounded voul. These differences becomes more evident when comparing the vowel charts of both languages. Beside these facts, English pronunciation tends to be more lax. As a result, if the user doesn't use these vowels carefully, they could produce a result with a strong accent. Fortunately, English has a large array of vowels, allowing multiple possibilities to reproduce vowels that are not in the language. For a vowel the user must consider the similitude between both the Japanese and the intended languages in order to minimize the foreign accent. In addition, the user must realize that the dialect could affect the realization of the English vowel. :Example: Oliver's { has been reported to be more centralized, sounding more similar to an / / than a / / in comparison to other English voicebanks.link The dialect effects specially to the diphones (diphthongs and rhotic diphones). For example, if the accent is non-rothic, the rhotic vowels can be realized either as long pure vowels or shwa-eding diphthongs; while if the accent is rhotic, these ones can be realized as vowel~r combination or as . If the rhotic vowel is realized as a long vowel, those ones can be used as a possible semiequivalent for the Japanese vowel intended to imitate. :Example: Big Al's eI phoneme is realized more as a long / / than a /eɪ/ diphthong. Knowing this the user must test which vowels sound better. For make easier the work, the best is group the vowels accord how much similar are to the Japanese counterpart. After choosing the closest or most fitting vowel, the pronunciation can be approximated further by adjusting the '''Parameters. The Gender Factor (GEN) can be used to change the overall tone of a vowel as it affects the timbre and the s, and can also give vowel sounds a lighter or darker quality. Meanwhile, the Opening (OPE) parameter affects how open or rounded the open vowels sound. Using both parameters allows the user to modify the stress and pronunciation to some extent, though users must be careful not to overuse them, as this may negatively distort the overall tone of the voice. Another method of matching a certain vowel sound is by combining vowels together (e.g. combining the V and { phonemes to produce a sound similar to the Japanese a phoneme). This may also result in an intermediate pronunciation as the sound glides from one vowel to another. Playing with this may allow better control of the stress, possibly resulting in a more native pronunciation. This trick however requires a smooth pronunciation between the vowels to be effective. It is also possible to use the diphthongs as a replacement of certain vowel combinations. For example, the last part of the word 外科医 (gekai 'surgeon') can be realized using the English diphthong aI. Palatalization The palatalization is a phonological process where the articulation of a consonant is modified, causing the middle of the tongue to be raised to the palatal position. Due this modified consonant can turn into a palatalized consonant which has a brief or "ee"-like sound , or can shift completely to the closest . The Japanese has some clear lexical and grammatical rules for denote when occurs the palatalization, being and important phonological process in their language. In contrast, in the case of the English, this is be a allophonic process which generally is unnoticed by the English speakers. This one generally occurring due the influence of the glide j. : Examples: * hue /ˈhju/ → /ˈçuː/ the becomes a due influence of the /j/ *'canyon' /ˈkænjən/ → /ˈkænʲjən/ the becomes a palatalized nasal alveolar (similar to a ) due influence of the /j/ Knowing this is possible take advantage of the allophonic palatalization in the English when you attempt to make an English Vocaloid sing in Japanese, for that is necessary create a brief j or "ee"-like sound after the consonant, for that the user can either: : 1) Intercalating the glide j between the consonant to palatalize and its vocal: The addition of the palatal approximant j will influence the consonant palatalizing. Maybe will be required adjust the Velocity (VEL). : Example: * ぎょうざ (gyōza 'fried dumpling') IPA: /ɡʲoːza/ → JP vb: o z a → EN vb: j O: z a : 2) 'Do a short note with the consonant to palatalize along the vowel i:: If the note is the short enough, the articulation of the i: will be the incomplete or barely listen, given the a j-colored sound to the consonant. Probably the user will need adjust the Velocity (VEL), also is important take in consideration the Tempo. : Example: * ぎょうざ (''gyōza 'fried dumpling') IPA: /ɡʲoːza/ → JP vb: o z a → EN vb: i:z a In the case of the like S, tS, Z and dZ, this trick may be required to acquire a more native pronunciation. Although similar, it is important note that the Japanese post-alveolars actually are , in contrast to the English post-alveolars which are . This gives to the Japanese post-alveolars a brief y-like glide sound and a somewhat weaker or less strident sound. Reviewing the Kanji forum - / t͡ʃ / VS / t͡ɕ / : Example: * 少女 (shōjo 'girl') IPA: /ɕoːdʑo/ → JP vb: oo → EN vb: j O:j O: or i:O:iO: Liquid Consonant The consist of the consonants and the consonants. The English language features one rhotic (/ɹ/ as in 'r') and one lateral (/l/ as in 'l') consonant. In the Japanese language, there is no clear distinction between the two. The Japanese 'r' is realized as a post-alveolar liquid consonant. Its sound tends to vary depending on its context, though many native Japanese speakers perceive it as one singular phoneme. The sound is usually intermediate between / / (more 'r'-like similar to the ) and / / (more lateral or 'l'-like), tending to one or another depending the vowel which follows it. It is for this reason that native English speakers tend to perceive it between their 'l', 'r' and 'd' sounds.linkOverseas UTAU - How to Pronounce the Japanese "R" (dialect comparisons) If the user is attempting to use a more 'l'-like sound, they can simply use the phoneme l0 ("light l"). The l ( ) phoneme is usually not recommended, as it may sound awkward or non-native. If the user wants to achieve a sound closer to the ɾ phoneme, they can use the phoneme also featured in Japanese (4), an additional phoneme available within the newest American-accented English voicebanks. If the user is working with a vocal that lacks this phoneme, it is possible to imitate this sound by combining the phoneme r with a 'd'-sounding phoneme such as d, dh or D. This is a method that was often used by some users before the addition of a proper 4 phoneme.linklink An example of this would be transcribing the word 光 (hikari 'light') with the i:Vd i: phonemes. As the phonemes have different degrees of stress and prominence depending on voicebank used, it is recommended that the user tests each combination to see which one gives the best result. Whether the user is attempting a more R-like or L-like sound, it is highly recommended that they adjust the Velocity (VEL) since the Japanese 'r' tends to be shorter or more "percussive".VocaloidMaster - Ponyo en el acantilado, dúo en japonés If the user wants to achieve a more aggressive/emphatic pronuniation (e.g. as in the Makijita (巻き舌) phenomena), it is possible to use the rolling R phoneme (R) within the voicebanks that have it available. Conversion Chart Special note: this is based on Big Al's help file and some information is added to show English equivalent/quasi-equivalent phonemes for Japanese phonemes with symbols and compare their actual pronunciations. Even if the Vocaloid symbol transcriptions are the same, their actual pronunciations in each of the language are often different as each IPA shows. This guide is meant for users who is working to make an English to Japanese Vocaloid to sing in the opposite language. However, additional work will be needed to get closer to the target language's phoneme usage. Footnotes Additional notes *Linguistically, the phonemes which the English language and the Japanese language share in common are '''k, g''', '''s, z''', '''Z, tS, h''', '''b, p''', '''j and m'''. While English and Japanese voicebanks both have '''e, S''', '''dZ, d''', '''N, n''' and '''w, these phonemes generally do not sound the same. (See IPA in each language) *Since all the voicebanks have their distinctive characteristics, their phonemes do not always produce the same result especially in languages which they are not intended for. **The above is particularly true for Miku and Rin, who are remarked to sound excessively aged when singing in normal configurations, higher octaves, but in another language. *The most of the consonants in the Japanese phonemes (with exception of the Nasal Consonants) and certain English phonemes are not intended to be encoded standalone. Using them for such may sometimes result in audio distortion, clicks or sound loops Japanese to English Techniques and Tips Working the Vowels As mentioned previously, the Japanese vowels are different from the English vowels, and the number of available vowels in the Japanese language is much more limited in comparison to English. Being a moraic language with open syllables, the Japanese language lacks diphthongs used in the English language. This, along with the fact that the Japanese /u/ and /w/ sounds differs from the English ones, can make diphthongs difficult to imitate with a Japanese voicebank. Depending on the dialect, the rhotic vowels can be pronounced either as a vowel+r combination or as a rhotic vowel. Since the Japanese language lacks rhotic vowels, this can be pronounced as a long monothong or a vowel+/ə/ diphthong, as in non-rhotic accents such as Received Pronunciation. Knowing this, along the fact the phoneme 4 and its palatalized counterpart 4' may have a more 'l'-like sound than a R-like one, it may be preferable to use a non-rhotic approximation when working with them. In general terms, the ending schwa can be approximated using a central vowel like a, or a mid vowel like e or o. Which one works better will depend the context of the word. Working the Aspirated Plosives In the Japanese language, the plosives are slightly aspirated. Although this makes them easier to work with, it may be possible that the aspiration and stress isn't enough for the context of the word. In these cases, there are two possible methods to work around this issue: The first is by using devoiced vowels to imitate the voiced plosives. As the [Phonetics|[*_0 phoneme]] already produces a whisper or breath-like effect, it can be used to imitate the ending breath burst of the aspirated plosives. The effect can be further aided using the h phoneme as a bridge in the syllable. : An example of using this method is by representing the word 'pie' (IPA: /paɪ/; EN vb: aI) as a_0i or a_0a i. : The second method is using an affricate phoneme instead of the aspirated plosives. In some English dialects, the affricates ts and dz may appear as allophones of the aspirated /t/ and /d/ sounds, and also double somewhat as an aspirated release. This allows to use them as replacement of the th and dh phonemes, respectively.link : An example of using this method is by representing the word 'time' (IPA: /taɪm/; EN vb: aI m) as a I m. : No matter what method is used, in both cases it's important to adjust the note length, along with the Velocity (VEL) and Breathiness (BRE) parameters, to achieve a convincing pronunciation. Other useful phonemes Since the Japanese voicebanks usually struggle with consonant clusters, the phoneme ts can be used as replacement to the /ts/ cluster, otherwise achieved by combining the t and s phonemes. Conversion Chart Notes , the is replaced by a vowel or semivowel.}} Examples English to Japanese Japanese To English .}} Trivia *The word " " is commonly used to describe odd Asian -> English words. The word itself originates from Japanese users habits of using a "r" instead of a "l" when spelling English words. In the Overseas Vocaloid fandom, the word is also often used to describe a Japanese Vocaloid singing in English. This is not as an act of disrespect, but rather just a note that Japanese phonetics were used to make "English". *Wat commented on how frustrated he felt when developing the Kaito English voicebank and commented how even a native speaker without patience might shoot their computer as a response to it.link The reason he gave was the huge gap between Japanese and English and how the two operate.link See also * (Wikipedia) * (Wikipedia) * (Wikipedia) References Navigation Category:Tutorials Category:Conversion List